Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It's property of Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Hi! So I'm back and a little late with the next prompt, which is Romeo and Juliet. If you've followed me for a while, you'd know that like two years ago I posted a story in which Ichigo and Rukia get to play Romeo and Juliet at school and, well, it was filled with comedy and a tiny bit of romance towards the end. Rest assure, this is not a repeat of that. In today's one-shot, we have Rukia realizing the similarities between the play and her relationship with Ichigo and tackling that aspect. I hope you enjoy it even if it's sad.

I will explain some things below.

As always, thank you all for reading and reviewing!

See ya!

defy the stars

Prompt: Romeo and Juliet

Summary: Maybe they were doomed from the moment they met. Star-crossed lovers destined to tragedy. But Rukia finds she doesn't care anymore as long as they get to be together.

"Then I defy you, stars." Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 1

Rukia isn't sure what eventually prompts her to confront Inoue, but she decides that enough is enough.

No matter how reassuring she's been, she knows it still weighs down on Ichigo.

The fact his friends don't support his decisions.

The fact they keep ignoring her.

The fact they purposely ostracize Ichigo when she's with him.

It is not fair.

But Rukia also realizes making a public scene won't help matters at all.

It might make them worse, actually.

And if there is one thing Ukitake-taichō taught her is diplomacy.

So, talking it is.

Although it is easier said than done.

She is not close to Ichigo's human friends and, quite frankly, she doesn't know to what extent they have been told about Shinigami, the Soul Society, and her role in all of this.

Rukia decides not to address this issue with them.

Especially when she is sure they are just following the others.

In particular, two of the friends.

She quickly realizes that the problem lies with Chad and Inoue.

She doesn't really have much of a relationship with Chad.

Though they are, technically, nakama, he never talks with her and she's not sure how to even contact him.

Inoue, though, is a different story.

At one point, Rukia would have considered her a friend.

She had comforted Inoue when the girl had felt like a nuisance.

She had trained her, so that she could fight in upcoming battles.

She had fought for her, when she had been taken.

Hell, she had bled for her.

She had crawled in a puddle of her own blood for her.

Just to save her.

So why was it that now she treated her like a stranger?

Like Rukia didn't matter?

Or that her presence was hurting Ichigo?

She truly does not understand.

And so, there is only one way for her to find out what is going on.

"What did you want to talk about, Kuchiki-san?"

Inoue asks her as they are both sitting on a table at a local coffee shop.

The girl looks uncomfortable and unsure as of why they are both even there in the first place.

"Is there a problem?"

"As a matter of fact, there is."

Her answer startles Inoue.

She squirms on her seat.

"What is the problem?"

She says as she fiddles with her fingers.

"The problem, Inoue, is that your friends and you have not been the most welcoming of my presence. Not to mention that you all, sans Ishida, have told Ichigo some things that have upset him. And I want to know why."

Rukia's tone is harsh.

She isn't holding anything back.

She is mad at all of them, but in some way she also feels betrayed by Inoue.

And it shows.

In her rigid posture, her cold gaze and furrowed lips.

She is every bit an Ice Queen.

Byakuya would have been proud of her Kuchiki glare had he been there to watch her.

But none of these things deter Inoue.

Her own face turns serious and she glares right back at her.

It could have been intimidating if it weren't for her shaking hands.

"You're right, Kuchiki-san. We don't welcome your presence in our lives, and we have good reason for it."

It surprises Rukia that she manages to utter that sentence without stuttering even once.

It is clear that gone is that Inoue from the old times, who was always babbling, and was terribly sweet.

The girl who would apologize to you if you mugged her.

In her place there is a young woman set to give Rukia war.

But Rukia won't be easily defeated.

"Oh, why's that?"

Her tone is unchanging as it is her gaze.

Still, Inoue doesn't back down.

"Because we all think that you're bad for Kurosaki-kun."

She is not one bit shocked by this statement.

She saw it coming from a long mile.

"And, pray tell me, who are you guys to decide who is good for Ichigo or not?"

Inoue flinches.

There are implications in the way they each refer to Ichigo.

That there is a distance between both women in regards to their relationship with him.

A distance Inoue can't reach.

And probably never will.

Which she finds upsetting.

So she presses on.

"We're his friends. We have known Kurosaki-kun for longer than you have. We know him. And we care for him. So we're worried about him."

She explains herself, but Rukia is not impressed.

"And why are you so worried about him?"

"Because of you.

You may not realize it, but you hurt him.

You hurt him so much every time you go away.

And you hurt him by just being here.

By having thrown him into your world.

A world filled with wars and hate.

He just keeps getting hurt physically and emotionally.

And Kurosaki-kun may be so blinded by you that he doesn't see it.

But we do.

And you must see it too, Kuchiki-san!

That the only thing that you can do for him is hurt him!

So, no, we don't approve.

Honestly, we wish you were gone forever.

Or at least until Kurosaki-kun doesn't want you so much."

Inoue is being honest.

But that isn't what saddens Rukia.

The truly painful thing is that her words hit right in her own insecurities.

Inoue's reasons are the same that had made Rukia stay away for two whole years.

That by being there, Ichigo had no chance at living a normal human life.

That she had done nothing but hurt him.

Yet, she is a different person.

Rukia now knows none of that is true.

Ichigo has made her see just how much he wants her in his life.

And so, she remains strong.

"That isn't happening.

Just because you think you know Ichigo, doesn't mean you do.

Doesn't mean you get him.

You say you don't want him to get hurt, yet you keep hurting him with the things you tell him.

You say you understand him, yet you guys don't realize he loves being a Shinigami.

You blame me for him getting physically hurt, yet he has also been hurt for you."

And by the way Inoue pales, Rukia knows she had hit a nerve.

It may have been low to remind her of Hueco Mundo, but everything she had said is the truth.

Inoue had hurt him just as much then.

She is as responsible as Rukia is.

Ichigo had fought his way into Hueco Mundo for Inoue.

Had almost nearly died for her.

If Rukia must be held accountable, so does she.

Perhaps that is why Inoue is so adamant about Ichigo not fighting anymore.

Maybe a part of her still feels very guilty about that whole ordeal.

But this isn't the way to make amends.

And Inoue ought to remember that she can't make decisions for Ichigo.

Or for Rukia.

In any case, she cannot stay quiet for long.

"It may be so."

Inoue starts again.

Rukia's impressed by her grit.

The old Inoue wouldn't have been able to confront her like this.

But there is a lot of selfishness involved in her actions.

Rukia can feel it.

"But you must understand you don't belong in our world, and Kurosaki-kun doesn't belong in yours. Not yet, at least. So, please, let him be."

She pleads but she won't just listen blindly to her.

"And why is that?"

If Inoue won't back down, neither will she.

But her words are the last straw for the girl in front of her.

"Because you're dead!"

She spats out, having lost all of her composure.

"Because you're dead and Kurosaki-kun's not!

You're from two different worlds!

It is fate that you're meant to be apart!

You don't belong together and you never will!

So…please…Kuchiki-san…I'm begging you…leave Kurosaki-kun alone."

Inoue's crying and she looks every bit like a tragic ingénue.

The weeping princess waiting for the hero.

A damsel in distress asking the witch to be gone.

It is heartbreaking.

But Rukia is not focused on her appearance.

Her words are what put her on edge.

And she recalls something.

A book Ichigo was reading the other day.

A play, he said it was.

About two lovers from opposing families, meant to never be together.

However, they had fallen in love.

And that had doomed them.

Ichigo had gone on and on explaining to her the ramifications of the play.

About how it went beyond the love story and that the real tragedy came from their parents' hatred.

It wasn't their love which killed them.

It had been hate instead.

The hatred that had nearly destroyed a city and had killed the two heirs of two great families.

As interesting as it had sounded, Rukia had just found the story sad.

How the poor youths hadn't been able to escape their destiny.

How they were meant to be forever apart.

Only reunited in death.

And she had thought it had been an unfair story.

Despite Ichigo's praises, she had asked herself who would even be able to watch it and enjoy all that suffering.

So it is deeply ironic how she can relate to it now.

Because she and Ichigo are from two different worlds.

In normal circumstance, they would have never met.

They are like the sun and the moon.

Destined to be apart.

Inoue is right about that.

But there is more than meets the eye.

They hadn't met under normal circumstances.

Ichigo is not even a normal human being to begin with.

And they have changed the odds so many times.

So why is it so bad that they want to be together?

Why can't they defy the stars?

Even if it doesn't last forever.

And, yes, maybe they were doomed from the moment they met.

Star-crossed lovers destined to tragedy.

Just like Romeo and Juliet.

But Rukia finds she doesn't care anymore as long as they get to be together.

She knows she will fight for them until the end of time.

And that Ichigo will do so too.

They will defy the stars together.

"You're right."

Rukia says at last.

Inoue perks up immediately.

"But that doesn't mean I'll do as you tell me. I won't ever leave Ichigo unless he asks me to."

Her words destroy Inoue's hopes.

"You're making a mistake, Kuchiki-san."

She mutters.

"You're just going to hurt each other."

"It would hurt more to be separated."

Rukia shots back.

"I don't think I can forgive you."

Inoue tells her and she gets it then, the true meaning of this conversation.

"I wasn't asking you to. But I do forgive you for meddling with my life. However, in the future, I won't be so lenient."

With that, she leaves Inoue alone at the café.

She doesn't think they will ever be friends after this.

But eventually they might find a common ground.

Or that's what she wishes to believe.

The only thing left to do is to confront Ichigo's other friends.

Now that she knows the root of the problem, it is easier to fix.

Rukia decides that now that Inoue can't really say anything about it, the best course of action is to just let the others know about the true extents of their relationship.

So the next time they hang out, she stands up and loudly proclaims,

"Ichigo and I will be together forever, so deal with it!"

Mizuiro drops his phone after listening to her.

Keigo opens his mouth so much he could've swallowed flies.

Chad's eyes grow in size.

Tatsuki exclaims "What?!"

Inoue looks down.

Ishida can't help but grin.

And Ichigo is red in the face.

But he doesn't get angry.

Instead, he gets up and stands next to her.

"As it turns out, we don't want to live without the other, so we're pretty much stuck forever."

He confirms, as he puts an arm around her shoulders.

As they beam at them, Ichigo's friends are unable to say anything else about it.

Though they do ask them lots of questions.

In particular about the nature of their relationship.

The two of them don't confirm nor deny anything.

But weeks later, a certain picture confirms just how serious they are about each other.

A/N: So I did promise a confrontation between Rukia and Ichigo's friends eventually. And I thought this would be the best time, as I'm only missing 11 more prompts. So it's better to resolve this now. As for the story in itself, I didn't want Rukia to just confront them all at the same time, as it could become a very hard conversation to have, with all of them joining forces to overpower her. Besides the real problem was always about Inoue. As I set it up in this story, and based on how Chad acted in the final arc, they all support Orihime as Ichigo's future girlfriend, so they try to push Ichigo to notice her. They do it because they love her. However, Rukia's arrival pretty much set them back. So, as for their own selfish reasons they don't like her, they make it known and try to make Ichigo forget about her. So the only real way to make them understand was for Rukia to find out the real problem when confronting Inoue one on one and then just proclaim she's going to be with Ichigo always and he backing her up in front of all of them. She just said it one day,out of the blue, so they had least time to get upset.

Also Rukia ends up finding out Inoue is in love with Ichigo and now she understands why she wanted the two of them apart. That it was less about Ichigo and more about herself. And that's why Rukia thinks they won't ever be friends again. As it was very selfish of her. Orihime was also being a hypocrite in this story, as Rukia mentions. But hopefully she can eventually mature enough and properly make ammends with them.

As for the rest, they now know they can't meddle in their affairs and that Ichigo has chosen. It's clear they will have to accept it and move on or stop being friends with Ichigo.

Also they are surprised here because the way they phrased it sounded like a marriage proposal, which...eh...it might as well be, honestly. It's a deeper promise than that, even.

Well, I hope you guys liked this one.

Next couple of ones will be lighthearted, we will stop with the drama for a while.

See ya!